The Phantom of The Phantom of the Opera

Chapter 36: How Long Has This Been Going On?

Mari hung up the call and breathed a sigh of relief, returning to the living room. "Oh, boy."

"Who was it?" Josh asked. His face flushed pale. "Unless you don't wanna tell me. Sorry, am I being nosey? I hate nosey people."

Mari laughed. "It was Monsieur Bennet, the new manager."

"Ah, the dude who looks like he's from the WallE movie," Josh smirked.

Mariah laughed again. "He's a nice guy, alright?...But yeah, that's him."

"What exactly did the evil Bowser want with Princess Peach?" Josh laughed, tossing Mari's book in the air and catching it.

"He wanted to ask me to the masquerade."

"So, that's the theme of this year's ball," Josh chuckled. "Man, he must be desperate. You're way out of his league."

Mari shrugged. "Well, fortunately, I was able to come up with a quick excuse."

"You have to watch rom coms to soothe your depression?"

"I told him that I have a boyfriend," Mari smiled sheepishly. "Then he asked for a name."

"God, Jeremy broke up with you six hours ago," Josh exclaimed, throwing a hand in the air. "This isn't communist Russia! How do rumors travel so fast?"

"More like two hours," Mariah mumbled. "I have no idea how these things get around, but they do...I may or may not have said that you were my boyfriend."

Josh's eyes widened and he stared blankly, his heart racing. "You didn't. "

Mari bit her lip. "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have, but there was no other way to get out of going. Not that I could think of in the split second I had to make something up, anyway."

Josh looked at her curiously, his eyes narrowing. "Why didn't you say Uriah?"

"Because Uriah repulses me."

"What about James, the old manager? Or Caleb?" Josh said slowly, taking a step closer to her as his eyes focused warily. "Why did you say my name?"

"Why did I say Josh's name?" Mari thought. She covered her mouth. "Oh, crap," she whispered. "I um...I don't know."

Josh frowned, and awkwardly took a few steps backward. "Sorry...I don't-" He looked down to his shoes and then back up. "Do you still want me to? I mean, after the week you've had, I'm surprised you want to go at all."

"Do I want you to what?" Mari asked slowly.

"Come? To the masquerade?"

"Come as in be there or come as in go with me?" Mariah questioned.

"Is there a difference?" Josh asked, "I mean-" He picked at his pocket awkwardly. "I mean, come on, being seen with me will take you down a few notches in respectability."

Mari smiled. "I sincerely doubt that. Besides, who cares?"

Josh raised a nervous, little hand.

Mariah laughed. "It would up your credibility," she pointed out. "Do you...want to go with me?"

"Do you want me to want to go with you?" He asked with a furrowed brow.

"For someone with such a high IQ, you can be so dense sometimes," Mari laughed. "Duh. Why do you think I asked?"

Josh quickly tensed his jaw. "My IQ is completely normal, thank you. Why do you think I'm wondering why you asked?"

Mariah smacked her forehead and shook her head. "Why do I bother trying?" She sighed, removing her hand. "Must you answer a question with a question every time?"